Parents run up 700 extra miles a year as ‘taxi’ for kids

Parents clock up an average of 700 extra miles a year acting as a taxi service for their children, reveals new research.

Over the years mums and dads have taken up the mantle of ‘taxi driver’ to provide free travel for their children and new research shows this is becoming increasingly common.

The report shows parents have been caught in the middle of an explosion of after-school clubs which means they’re spending more and more time chauffeuring their kids about.

The rise of after-school school clubs has seen parents whizzing about to get their kids to various activities such as karate, Mandarin, piano lessons and even circus training.

And it’s not just young children using their parents for a ride, there’s also been an increase in young adults relying on their services, according to the research by insurers Sheilas Wheels.

The report suggests that parents could do with a bit of circus training too as three in five claim they’re unable juggle all of their child’s activities and need to bring in help, which comes mostly from the grandparents.

It’s no surprise they find it increasingly difficult to keep track of their child’s social life as by the time they’ve reached 12 years old, kids are taking part in four hours of clubs and classes a week.

To combat the extra journeys required by their children, as many as two out of three families (63 per cent) have added an extra car to their fleet since 2014.

Data also suggests that one in 10 trips in the car made by parents is just for their kids social activities with them clocking up on average a whopping 700 miles a year, just for their taxi service.

With more and more adults in their twenties and thirties living at home, older parents are also spending around four hours a week running their grown up kids about.

It’s not all bad though for parents as many dads say they don’t mind the time they spend driving as the journey allows them to talk to their children without the distraction of mobiles, tablets and TVs.

On the other hand though some mums feel like the extra journeys are an added drain on their time.

Emma Banks, a spokesperson for Sheilas Wheels, said: “It’s easy to see how the journeys clock up, with kids today often having busier social lives than their parents.

“Our research shows that there is little let up for parents as the taxi-meter doesn’t slow down even when the children reach their 20s or 30s.”